The NFC West is up for grabs on Sunday Night Football when the San Francisco 49ers head north to take on the Seattle Seahawks. The game is scheduled for an 8:20 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on NBC. Currently the odds for the game have the Seahawks favored anywhere from 1 to 3 points.

Even if the Seahawks continue to score points, you know it had to come to an end at some point. Seattle has rolled up 108 total points in two weeks, becoming the first NFL team since 1950 to score 50+ in back to back outings. Obviously we wouldn't expect them to continue to have that type of output, especially against one of the better teams in all of football.

The 49ers surely could use a win in this game. Last week San Francisco was able to put up 40+ on the Patriots, so what do we expect from the 49ers in this game? We know that head coach Jim Harbaugh and Seattle skipper Pete Carroll aren't exactly the best of friends, so how will Harbuagh's team react to playing a divisional rival on the road on national television? Probably in a good way.

A Seattle led team under Carroll hasn't beaten a Harbaugh led 49er team yet. Even though they are favored in this game, we don't expect the Seahawks to win. In fact, the last time a Carroll led team knocked off a Harbaugh led team, Mark Sanchez was hit quarterback at USC.

Russell Wilson is considerably better than Sanchez, but he didn't play well against the 49ers the last time around. Remember, the 49ers QB last time around was Alex Smith. Don't expect him to play in this game.

But it might be up to the defense to win this game for Seattle. With Colin Kaepernick at quarterback, the 49ers have run more than 80 percent of the time from pistol formations, and have averaged 6.4 yards per rush. That's pretty one-dimensional, but it's been able to work.

Frank Gore hasn't totaled 100 since running for a season-best 131 against Seattle earlier in the year. Look for him to get a lot of carries tonight.Look for the same from Marshawn Lynch, who is 121 yards shy of becoming the third Seahawk back to reach 1,500 in a single season.

Both defenses are going to be critical to tonight's game. Seattle has won all six of their home games while San Francisco has done fairly well on the road, winning five out of six.

Seattle is at home and they've been dominant there all season, but we like the 49ers overall in this game. Defense, special teams and running the football are all going to be key in this game and the 49ers are going to get it done.

Free Pick: San Francisco 21, Seattle 17

NFL Free Picks: San Francisco at Seattle Betting

What pro football bettors need to know about San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks on Sunday (12/23/12) - a free pick from Pregame.com's Marco D'Angelo, with Bryan Leonard and host Scott Spreitzer.